Anne walked slowly beside her mother, the heavy silk skirts brushing against the polished stone floors of the palace corridors. The grand halls, the intricate tapestries, the scent of blooming plum blossoms — everything was so unfamiliar, yet vaguely familiar, as if whispering fragments of a forgotten dream.
The carriage ride back from the temple had been silent. Anne's heart churned with confusion. She was to marry a prince. But which one? She had been too disoriented by this world's customs and grandeur to fully grasp it.
Inside her private chambers, she stood by the window, staring out into the rain-soaked garden. The same rain that once witnessed her first meeting with Liam in her past life. Now, destiny played a crueler game — binding her to a stranger who shared Liam's face.
Unbeknownst to Anne, the young prince she was to marry — the Third Prince — had his own story drenched in sorrow and struggle.
He had not always been the favored son.
Born under the shadow of suspicion, the court whispered that the Third Prince's blood was not purely imperial. Jealous ministers had accused the Empress of betrayal, claiming the child was not of the Emperor's lineage. Though no evidence was ever found, the Emperor's heart hardened.
He turned a cold eye toward the boy who bore his name but not, in his mind, his blood.
The Third Prince — Liam — grew up knowing he was unwanted.
But he was not weak.
At fifteen, the original Third Prince fell ill and died.
It was then that Liam — reborn, carrying memories of his tragic death in the modern world — awoke in this body.
Quickly understanding the cold palace politics, he chose a different path.
He did not demand love from the Emperor. He did not seek favor.
Instead, he sought power the only way undeniable to kings: through victory.
By eighteen, he had joined the army.
By twenty, he commanded it.
He fought battle after battle along the northern borders, winning lands, loyalty, and the fear of foreign kings.
His title rose rapidly: from Commander (Janggun / Jiangjun) to Supreme Commander (Chongjanggun / Dajiangjun).
Eventually, the Emperor had no choice but to grant him the highest military honor: Grand Marshal (Daegun Janggun / Da Jiangjun).
It was an unprecedented title for a prince. Along with it came wealth, lands, and unparalleled respect — though still not his father's love.
Yet, Liam accepted it all with a quiet, burning patience.
When Anne — the soul he loved beyond death — appeared in this world, he recognized her immediately, though she did not know him.
To protect her, to tie her fate to his again, he arranged their marriage silently, using all his political strength.
But Anne, lost between two worlds, remained unaware of the man behind the proposal.
Now, as she prepared for a future she didn't fully understand, Liam stood in the shadows of the palace — waiting, watching.
Hoping that fate, which had once torn them apart, would this time lead them back together.